Eight arrested in Diego anti-crime exercise

Police arrested eight persons and seized two firearms and a quantity of ammunition in an anti-crime exercise carried out in the Diego Martin district on Sunday.

The exercise which was carried out from 4 am to 7 am was conducted by officers of the Western Division Task Force.

During the exercise, an extensive search was carried out in the upstairs area of Maro's Mini Mart, along Upper Covigne Road, where a birthday party was in progress.

The search resulted in officers discovering a Glock 17 pistol fitted with a Surefire flashlight, a laser beam and selector.

The firearm was loaded with a magazine containing 17 rounds of ammunition, additionally, an extended magazine containing 18 rounds of ammunition was also found. All items were found in a cooler on the premises.

The eight suspects, ages 18 to 45 years, were immediately arrested and taken to various police stations for questioning.

In an unrelated incident, an unidentified man was shot and wounded in Carenage on Monday.

The incident occurred shortly after 9 am at Scorpion Lane. Police said the wounded man was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police said there have been an upsurge of gang-related shootings in the area over the past three months but added that they continue to do patrols, stop and search exercises and random house searches in a bid to restore law and order to the community.